A MINER who lived through the worst pit disaster in a county because of a twist of fate died in a similar accident nearly 30 years later on the other side of the world.

Lewis Smithson, 15, a driver at West Stanley Colliery, County Durham, suffered a crushed finger days before the fatal explosion of February 16, 1909.

He was unable to work, but his 18-year-old brother, John Joseph, who was out of work, went in his place and was killed.

John was working on a seam and died from carbon monoxide poisoning after an explosion that claimed 168 lives.

Lewis, his sisters, Beatrice and Felicia, and their parents, Albert and Elizabeth, who lived in Mona Street, were devastated, along with hundreds of other families who lost loved ones.

Seven years after the tragedy, Lewis married his fiance, Isabel, who gave birth to John, Laurie and Lewis.

The family moved to New Zealand where two more children, Albert and Connie, were born. His granddaughter, Yvonne Soares, who lives in Westport, New Zealand, with children of her own, has been researching her family history, and takes pride in her mining heritage. She said: “It was a long time before any of the family even knew about the mining disaster.

“Maybe Lewis, my grandfather, felt awful because John went to work and it should have been him.

“We will never know because he never talked about it, so we do not know the effect it had on the family.”

On December 26, 1938, Mr Smithson, an official at Donolie Mine, was carrying out an inspection when he died in an explosion.

He was buried in New Zealand, but his family in England added his name to his brother’s headstone in Stanley.

A service to mark the 100th anniversary of the Stanley disaster will be held in St Andrew’s Church, Stanley, at noon tomorrow. On Monday, the church bells will toll 168 times.

Mrs Soares said: “The working conditions were horrific, but these men and boys had no choice as they had families to support.

“My heritage means a lot to me and this 100-year anniversary is very important for people to remember the hardships that families went through and the loss of lives.”